I'm looking for a new (to me) legacy 200mm prime. So far I've been pretty disappointed with the results from breech-mount era Canons that I've tried. I'm open to almost anything f4 and faster that could be adapted to m43. Does anyone have suggestions or image examples?
The Nikkor 200 f4 is pretty hard to beat. It was the most popular Fashion lens years ago because the compression was beautiful. Good luck in your quest... Shooter
. . .hmm, yes, I think I actually had one for awhile and then I used a Nikkor 180 f2.8 for about a decade, loved that lens.
I have too many 200mm lenses (maybe one reason I am non-plussed by the new lenses announced by Olympus this week). My favorite right now is a Konica Hexanon 200mm f/4.0 that I bought from someone on this forum. I like the way it feels and focuses, and the images it captures. (I'll try to upload a couple of pix.) I actually have even more 135 mm lenses and my favorite of these is a Contax Sonnar f/2.8. As a result I've been eyeing this 200mm lens on eBay: (link). He's had to relist it twice, each time at a lower price. I figure at this price it will go soon. The odd thing is that it has been modified (and chipped!) to work on a standard 4/3 camera. It is possible that it could communicate with the camera using an adapter. Of course, the real fantasy lens is this one: (link) Even the photo he took of the lens is beautiful - lol.
There are two versions of the Nikon 200/4, the original 4-element design and a compact version with 5 elements, introduced in the mid 1970s. The latter is smaller and sharper. If you can find one, the Vivitar series 1 200mm F3 is very good.
Hi - If you can live with 20mm less, the Leica APO Telyt-R 180mm f3.4 lens is, literally, the sharpest lens of this type around. It was designed by Leica Canada for the US Navy for use in P3 Orions and the like to photograph Soviet ships when they were at sea and handily out-resolves the sensor of any digital camera out there. No fringing anywhere on the image as well, since it is an APO lens. Increasingly rare, too. I picked one up with some light front and rear lens scratching and can see no image degradation whatsoever. Saved me a bunch of money, as these are rather pricey otherwise. I can also vouch for the Nikon 200 f4 (4-element), very nice bokeh and while not nearly as sharp as the Leica lens, still a decent performer. JohnF
I had a brief fling with Leica R system in the early 90s and owned the 180 f2.8 telyt, I swear it weighed 2 kilos and it had a tripod mount on the barrel (which I liked). My wife (first wife) dropped it from about 10inches onto the bottom of a wood hulled canoe, the impact totally deformed the main body of a newish R4s. A very expensive repair. I've looked at a few telyts recently and also the 200 f4 version, wish I could see some sample images.
I finally got my hands on a very clean Canon FD 135mm f2 which I am testing right now. . .maybe I should look for an FD extender 1.4x.
You might want to consider this. I have this lens. I don't use it much because I just don't generally need long focal lengths. SMC Pentax-M 200mm F4 Lens Reviews - Pentax Lens Review Database
